Seed

Most plants can be cultivated from seed, but some are easier to succeed with than others. If you’re growing from seed, the best time to do this is in spring, right at the start of the growing season.

AVOCADO

The avocado plant (Persea americana) has become really popular recently as a houseplant. The actual process of cultivating it is just so easy, educative and interesting. Here are the instructions for how, having eaten an avocado, you can use the seed (also called the stone) to cultivate your own avocado tree. Good luck!

1 Wash the stone and remove any remaining fruit.

2 Holding the narrow end upwards, stick four pins into the stone about 2cm (¾in) from the top (a lot of people achieve good results with toothpicks).

3 Fill a clear glass with water, and put the stone in it with the pins resting on the rim of the glass.

4 Check that the bottom of the stone is beneath the water level at all times.

5 Put the glass in the sunniest spot in your home. The avocado is originally from Central and South America and it likes a lot of sun.

6 Change the water a few times each week to stop the stone going mouldy.

7 After a few weeks, the stone will split and put roots down into the water.

8 After a few more weeks, you’ll see a shoot start to sprout from the top of the stone.

9 Once the shoot has grown to about 20cm (8in) in height, pot it up in some potting compost, with the top part of the stone sitting slightly above the surface of the compost.

10 The avocado plant must be kept moist, as it’s thirsty and likes plenty of water. Don’t forget to use a pot with a hole and drainage so that it doesn’t drown!

FACT

Unfortunately, growing conditions in northern Europe aren’t good enough to produce avocado fruit, unless you have particularly good growing conditions in your home – but with its long stems and large oval leaves, it is an attractive and interesting plant.